Łódź is pronounced Woodge hence the title.
My mum and I recently went to Łódź, Poland for a few days away before college properly started back up, and as part of my birthday celebrations. I’ve never been to Poland before whereas mum has and highly recommended it, so I was interested to see what it was like.
We flew from Dublin which involved getting the bus at 2.05 a.m. from where I live, which was an experience! We arrived at the airport at about 5.30 a.m. and our flight was around 7 a.m. so it wasn’t too bad, apart from being so tired I probably looked like a zombie walking around the airport.
I’m quite a nervous flyer but thankfully mum and I were able to sit together due to some empty seats. The flight was around 3 hours but apparently as soon as the safety demo started I was out like a light, snoring with my mouth open, so apologies to the Ryanair staff and passengers affected by this traumatic image.
When we arrived at Łódź airport we were greeted by Krystian, who very kindly offered to get us to and from the airport after we had hassle with getting an airport transfer. We stayed in City Center Rooms which were right on Piotrkowska which is one of the longest streets in Europe – it even has ‘HollyŁódź’ (Hollywoodge), stars on the pavement with famous Polish names on. The hotel was nice and clean, staff were friendly with great English and breakfast was included too so really good value. Breakfast varied from hot dogs, eggs, cheese toasties, yoghurts, pancakes and waffles, cereals, meat and cheese, and interesting salads.
Food & Drink
The food and drink in Poland was absolutely delicious. I’m sure I didn’t have the proper Polish cuisine due to being vegetarian but the food we did have was amazing.
On our first day we were absolutely starving and the hotel staff recommended we try the Grand Coffee café. I had a three cheese toastie, a delicious lime drink and we shared the most amazing cheesecake-brownie type thing topped with various chocolate. Because of the exchange rate everything worked out really cheap for us which was a massive bonus.
For dinner we went to Tel Aviv Urban Food, a vegan restaurant on Piotrkowska – twice! I was a bit nervous before we went about the language barrier and being vegetarian, but it turned out to not be a problem at all. The staff in Tel Aviv are so friendly and helpful. We ended up getting a mezze sharing platter which was, hands down, one of the most amazing things I’ve ever eaten. It put a lot of the vegetarian food in Ireland to shame to be honest. Everything on the platter was full of flavour; from the flatbread we dipped into the 3 flavours of hummus (nicest hummus ever), to the sweet chilli sprouts/cauliflower/green beans (sounds like it shouldn’t work but it does), the lemon oil olives and the vegan chorizo/queso. I also ordered some tofu feta which was gorgeous. All that food proved to be thirsty work so we also got a cocktail each – which was as good as the food. In the end the mezze platter worked out to around €7, you just wouldn’t get that value in Ireland!
On our last night, we had dinner in Senoritas, a very popular Mexican restaurant. We were lucky to get a table as it was nearly booked out – and it was easy to see why. The food was gorgeous, huge portions and very reasonably priced. Again, we had to try one of their cocktails – I wish I could have sampled all of them! I got loaded nachos and a pineapple cocktail while mum got a rum cocktail and paella. The waitress spoke very good English, service was quick and the bill came out in a music box which was different!
It wouldn’t be a holiday without sweet treats, so we had to go to E. Wedel which is a famous Polish chocolate company. They have cafés, I suppose a bit like Ireland’s Butler’s Chocolate Café, and it’s chocolate heaven. I had chocolate fondue and mum had the most incredible sundae. Everything on the menu looked divine.
We also tried Paczki, Polish doughnuts, freshly made from a stall on Piotrkowska. They were amazing – I had mine with Snickers filling and mum had a Nutella filled one and we were both drooling.
Of course, Poland has really good alcoholic beverages, too. We stopped for a gorgeous cocktail in one of the bars on Piotrkowska. I think the cocktails worked out to around €2/€3 and they definitely weren’t watered down! We also tried cherry liquer, and we had to bring some home..
Shopping & cat café
We went to Herbaciarnia Kocie Oczy which is a cat café. We knocked on the door and were greeted by the loveliest lady who let us in. The minute we stepped in we were wowed: it was like stepping into a dolls’ house. From the music to the cat themed trinkets and plush furnishings, you couldn’t get a prettier place to have a cup of coffee. We enjoyed a Pink Panther latte and a coffee smoothie while fussing over the cute cats. One of the cats even jumped on my lap for some kitty kisses.
The second day was shopping day, so we headed to Manufaktura, a huge shopping centre not far from our hotel. I was immediately drawn, like a moth to a flame, to the Sephora. I was practically drooling looking at all the makeup but alas, I am a poor student. I did, however, get some things from New Yorker, which is like a German version of Penneys (thanks hun, New Yorker x) and I wish it was in Ireland because the clothes are so my style.
When we were all shopped out, we decided to walk back to Piotrkowska for some dinner. I swear I walked more on this trip than I have in my whole 23 years of existence. The chub rub was real. By the time we got to Piotrkowska I was extremely hangry. I wanted to try Green Way Food For Life, a veggie/vegan place that had good reviews online, so we went in. Unfortunately the waitress didn’t speak English and rolled her eyes and sighed when we asked. We ended up going back to Tel Aviv again – not that I’m complaining.
History
On our last full day, we met up with Krystian again who took us to the Łódź Ghetto, Radegast station (where the trains went to Auschwitz), which now has a memorial erected, and the Jewish cemetery. Over 100,000 people are buried there, and over 40,000 in the ‘Ghetto field’ from the Holocaust. Krystain told us about the open pits in the graveyard that were supposed to be mass graves but didn’t get used so they have been left in memory. It was absolutely heartbreaking hearing about the Ghetto and walking around the cemetery, my heart felt very heavy. We visited the Broken Heart memorial in what used to be the children’s concentration camp. The monument is in memory of the victims, and we stood in silence looking at it. It’s so horrific and unimaginable to hear about what went on and it really makes you think.
Light Move
On our last night in Łódź, we went to the Light Move festival, where the street was aglow with lights and music and throngs of people. Music accompanied the lights and there was a great atmosphere around. It truly felt like a street party! Projections of interesting light videos were cast on the buildings with music to accompany it. I’d love to see something like this in Ireland.
So that’s a roundup of our Poland trip. If you’ve made it this far, well done, it was a long post! I thoroughly enjoyed our trip. If you’re looking for a cheap, short trip away for some shopping, food, culture and history, I definitely recommend Łódź. Thanks for reading!
life according to lucy 